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. W. H. GHILDE. OAR WHEEL AND FROG FOR WIDE AND NARROW GAGE RAILWAYS. No. 82,086.

Patented Sept. 15, 1868.

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w. H; CHILDE, OF G-AIN E'SV ILLE, ALABAMA Letters Patent, No. 82,086, ates September 15,1868.

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are LLL WHOM 1:12 Mar. ooncnnng I I Be itlrnown that CHIPDE, of Gainesville, in the county of Sumter, and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in (lar wheels and Frogs for combined wide and narrow-gauge railways and I do hereby declare that the following is a-full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being'hadjo the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which Figure is a plane view of combined wide and narrow-gauge tracks, showing the improved frog applied thereto; v

Figure 2 isav'ertical sectional view, taken through cross-ties, between wide andnarrow-gauge tracks at the junction of such tracks.

Figure 3 is a diametrical section of the improved car-wheel which I have adapted for wide and narrowgauge tracks. I I

Fignres'4 and 5.are modifications of the wheel of fig. 3."

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to-unite the varying gauges or widths of railroad-tracks at the' least possible expenseto railroad-companies, and without impairing their strength, safety, or utility, as a reliable medium for traflac and travelt'otize public.

The nature of my invention consists in making car-wheels of such width of tread as to adapt them, when applied upon their axles, for tracks of different gauges or widths, andin constructing such wheels with two or more independent treads which are separated. by flanges, shoulders, or their equivalents, so that there shall be a flange for each treadrwhich'willkeep the wheels-in place upon the rails and in crossingfrogs, and prevent undue lateral motion, as will be hereinafter explained.

The invention further consists in a frog fortracks of different gauges, which is adapted to serve for the improved wheels, and lso for the common single-tread wheels; said frog being constructed with grooves or channels in its surface, intersecting each other at proper angles, and corresponding to the diiferent treads and flanges of the wheels to be used, as will be hereinafter explained.

It has been the practice heretofore, upon lines of railroads having -varying gauges, to adjust the singletread wheels upon their axles for the narrowest gauge of the line, but when the wheels or trucks pass upon the wider gaugeof the line, there are necessarily spaces left between the rails andiianges of the wheels, which not onlyhause lateral motion to the trucks,- but are destructive to the rolling stock, and exceedingly unsafe aud'unpleasant to passengers. I p I In order to avoid these objections it has been suggested to employ separate tracks, adapted for the difl'erent gauges of a line of road, but this system would involve great expense,'hesides loss of time and labor to efl'ect the required changes at the junctionsor breaks of one gauge of road to another gauge.

To enable others skilled in the artto understand my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, fig. 1, I have represented widef and narrow-gauge tracks,'at the junction or crossing of two lines. A it. A represent the wide-gauge rails, and B 13 represent the narrower-gauge rails, the-latter commencing inside ofthe'wide gauge, and lapping o'r passing at the ends, as shown at is, so thata perfect junction. canbe made to allow the improved compound-tread wheels to roll safely from one gauge of track upcn another.

By reference to fig. it will be seen that the rails of the narrower gauge, B, terminate in inclined planes,

and are thus brought to a-l'ower level at their termini than the rails of tbewide-gauge track.- This difi'erencc in heighflheing equal to about one-half the variation in the diameters of the treads of the ,improved wheels, will allow cars to be passed from one gauge or width of track upon another gauge or width of track, without loss of time or inconvenience,

The frog, which I have represented in fig. 1, is constructed with additional grooves, arranged at such distances apart as will correspond with the widths of the trends of the improved wheels. The grooves d'd serve ihelfianges of the common single-tread wheel. The grooves e a servo theflahge-of mydonble-tread wheel.

To make the fro responding to the fiangesof the wheels, should be made.

' Between the points ff the car-wheels: are to run on the flange'instead-of the tread; that isto'say, between v available for varying combinations withthe double-tread wheel, additional grooves, corsaid points ff, the grooves are so adjusted with reference to th treads of th e'wheels that the superincumbent weight will be borne bythe flange. This arrangement has special-reference to'eominon car-wheels with single tread, and is designed for confining these wheels-totheright track without the. use of guard-rails, which could not be very well used for both single and double-tread wheels. v i

The surfaces of the grooves may be plated withsteel, to lessen the abrasion or wear by the-flanges ofthe I wheels. The surfaces of the frog, between its-external rail-flanges, being inclined from the pointsf outward,

requires that the double-tread wheel shall overcome an elevation equal to the depth of] a-fian'ge of suchwheel, say one .inchand a liali" perpendicular rise between'the foot f and summitg ofthe frog, This brings the 1 bearings for allsthe wheels upon the same plane where they pass in the frog, and is an indispensable prerequisite to saie'tyand'smooth running.

The frog-"which I have shown in fig. 1 is applied to'thewidest-gauge track, and passes the improved wheels double-tread wheels, on the narrowest-gauge tread and flange, and vice versa, when the frog is applied to the narrowest-gauge track. I I

7 Having nowdescribed ;one mode of constructing and using a frog adapted to single or double-tread wheel, Iwill describe the'improved wheels which I have adapted for the varying-gauge roads or tracks I In the accompanying drawings, fig. -3, I have shown, by a sectional view, one form of car-wheel, which is adapted for a line of road haying two difi'orent gauges or widths of track. This wheel. is constructed with two independent treads, a b, oneof which, a, is adapted for a narrow-gauge track, and the other, b, is adapted for a wide-gauge track. H p

v In order to efl'eot this objectsuccessfully, without ohangingthe frog on both 'of the vnrying-gauge roads, andtpr'event undue lateral play of the wheels-or truoks'upon their rails when the cars are in motion, and also to insure safety of travel over the rails, at turno-uts crossings, and other points of a ro'ad, I make one tread of larger diameter than the other, as shown in figs, 3, 4, and 5.

' In fig. 3, the o'utertrsad b is of less diameter than the inner tread a, which leaves a flange or shoulder, d, of equal depth to the inner flange a. In fig. 4, the outer tread b is of .larger diameter than the inner tread,

and the'two treads are separated by a raised flange, d; and in fig. 5, three treads, a b b, are shown, the inter.

' over'it, all substantiallyas described.

mediate one being of larger diameter than tliejothers.

This wheel, shown in fig. 5,-i's a treblotread wheel, in which the larger periphery or tread bapplies to a middle-gauge road, and the two smaller peripherieato extreme wide and narrow-gauge roads.

Having described my invention what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-'- Unitin'g railroads of different gauges, by means of a frog, applied at the unction of two or more traolzs, and' constructed as described, and by railroad-wheels, constructed with two or more independent trends, the said frog and wheels beingemployed together, but the former also permittin wheels with asinglo tread to pass W. H. GHILDE.

Witnes des:

Jone. Buss, 

